GUNMA, Oct 16 (News On Japan) –
A historic temple in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, generally known as the birthplace of the Tokugawa clan identify, is on the middle of a dispute with native authorities after a once-picturesque pond inside its grounds dried up and was an overgrown thicket.
The battle has sparked public criticism and highlighted deeper disagreements over accountability for sustaining cultural heritage websites.
Chorakuji Temple, the place the ancestors of the Tokugawa household first adopted their well-known surname, was designated a nationwide historic website 25 years in the past. One of its central options, a lotus pond spanned by the Togetsu Bridge, as soon as mirrored the encompassing panorama on its calm floor. Today, nonetheless, the pond is dry and choked with tall grasses and weeds, leaving guests shocked. “People say, ‘Is this really a pond?’ It used to hold water until around May,” stated head priest Ryoshu Takahashi.
According to Takahashi, the pond’s situation deteriorated after a stone embankment collapsed in the course of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, inflicting water to leak out. A pump designed to attract groundwater additionally turned clogged, and by June 2025, the pond had fully dried up. Despite repeated appeals to the Ota metropolis authorities — which manages the temple grounds as a public park — the scenario was left unaddressed for months.
“The problem is that city officials and the responsible department did nothing for three months,” Takahashi stated angrily. Guides who lead excursions of the positioning additionally expressed frustration, calling the pond’s state “deeply disappointing” for guests anticipating to see a well-preserved nationwide heritage location.
City officers insist that the temple, because the property proprietor, bears accountability for coping with the water leakage beneath the Cultural Property Protection Act. Takayoshi Takayama, a bit chief in Ota’s Parks and Greenery Division, apologized for the delay, explaining that “restrictions under cultural property laws required time to navigate.” He promised that the town would quickly clear the overgrown vegetation, saying, “We believe managing trees and weeds is our responsibility and will move forward as quickly as possible.”
Takahashi, nonetheless, stays unconvinced. “It’s unbelievable they need three months just to consider mowing grass,” he stated, including that if public strain from media protection lastly prompts motion, it might a minimum of be a welcome outcome. But the extra critical subject — repairing the broken construction that brought about the pond to dry up — stays unresolved. The metropolis maintains that restoration work ought to be undertaken by the temple because the proprietor, and has not dedicated to overlaying any prices.
“The temple grounds are used as a public park. It’s obvious the city should fund such repairs as part of park maintenance,” Takahashi argued. With the 2 sides nonetheless at odds, it stays unclear whether or not water will ever return to the historic pond, elevating broader questions on how Japan preserves its cultural heritage when tasks are contested.
Source: FNN